Awakening: Turning Point
by t.j.guard
Summary: The Fenton Family and the rest of Amity Park prepare for battle with the King of All Ghosts, but what they don't plan for is that things aren't always as they seem. Third in the Awakening Series
1. Chapter 1

Turning Point

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

A/N: told in Demi's point of view, sequel to Rise of the King.  
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Chapter One

The Ghost Zone seemed limitless, even as we flew through it in a desperate attempt to distance ourselves from Pariah Dark. Every now and again I spotted swirls of green and black energy drifting around the Ghost Zone randomly, slowly.

Dad banked right, and I followed, studying the speck we were approaching. As it grew larger, I saw the rubble, and I recognized Clockwork's castle. "That guy really needs to fix his place," I said.

"But for now, this is the place to go," Dad replied.

We touched down at the same time, and I sank to the floor. I could feel myself shifting back into human form. Dad helped me to my feet, and we crossed the room to a pile of large chunks of wall. We took our seats, and Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Wow, what are the odds?" Phantom asked. He was leaning against a lone half of a pillar, his arms folded across his chest. His arms dropped to his sides as he took a few steps forward.

"One in God knows?" I guessed, raising my eyebrows.

"Nice guess. Now, how long before he comes back around to us?"

"He's gonna look for the Crown of Fire first, and let's hope his eyes around town haven't overheard anything unusual that would point him in the direction of that thing," Dad replied.

"What about that statue of the Fright Knight?" Dad and Phantom looked at me, and I took a deep breath. "The first time I went to the Ghost Zone, to look around for the spook Dad lost from Connecticut. I described the ghost to Ember, she said it was the Fright Knight."

"Wait a sec, what would the Fright Knight want in Connecticut?" Phantom asked.

"It's not what the Fright Knight wants. It's what Pariah wants," Dad replied.

"The Crown of Fire," we all said at once.

DPDP

Dad and I shot over Earth, and I glanced back to make sure Phantom was following us and not causing any trouble. I looked down at the changing scenery as we raced over state lines. "We still have to figure out who let Pariah out," I said.

"Yes, we do, but for right now, we have to nip this thing in the bud before it gets any worse," Dad replied.

"Think we can win?"

Dad sighed and looked over at me. "Yes, baby girl," he said after a moment. "We'll win."

After some time, Dad began slowing his speed. I recognized the house, which had subsequently been rebuilt, and I habitually scanned for anything out of the ordinary. "Demi, search the house, I'll cover the rest of the town. Phantom, stay out of trouble," Dad said as he touched down. "Both of you let me know if something is wrong."

"Got it," I said, and I looked over my shoulder at Phantom.

"I got dragged into this mess. I guess I'm in it for the long haul," he said. "Besides, you two keep me on a tight enough leash as it is. And don't get me going on Clockwork. He'll figure it out if I did something wrong, and he'll be all over me about it."

"Okay, let's go." Dad walked toward what I took to be the town square, and I walked up the front steps of the house. As I opened the door, I chanced a glance back at Phantom, who was chewing his lip, his arms folded across his chest. The pure annoyance on his face would have sent a chill up my spine if it were a month prior, but I figured I'd gotten used to him after he tried to kill me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I crossed the old, empty foyer slowly. The floorboards squeaked, and the place looked like it hadn't been lived in for decades. On the other side of the foyer was what looked like a living room. I started my search with whatever drawers I could open. I found an old Bible, some newspapers, stationery, pens, ink, but nothing to indicate the presence of any sort of crown, much less the Crown of Fire. Every other nook and cranny was empty of everything but dust.

The rest of the rooms on the first floor were the same way, so I walked up the creaky stairwell to the second floor. I walked into the bedroom I had crashed into, the one Phantom chased me into. This room and most of the others on second floor were free of clues, and I reached the end of the hall. The last door. If this room didn't hold the answers, I didn't know which area in this little town did.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was a small library dominated by an impossibly clean desk. On the desk was a cardboard box, slightly worn, with a slight ghostly aura. I picked the box up and examined it. On the side, in black sharpie, was 'Property of Vlad Masters'. The ghostly aura made me not want to rip the box open, so I turned my hand intangible and reached into the box.

The raw energy inside burned, and I tore my hand out almost before I thought to keep it intangible. I clutched my hand to my chest, and I knew I found what we were looking for. Not only a clue, but a smoking gun.

I picked up the box and walked out of the room.

I was halfway down the hall when I heard the ruckus outside. It sounded like aliens from another world had landed and sought to conquer by killing nearly everyone, and it struck me then that that was exactly what was going on.

The box fell from my hands, and I rushed into the nearest room. Without a second thought, I launched myself through the window, landing easily in the lawn outside. Ectoplasmic shots fell from a red cloud in the sky, right into the middle of the street. I rushed to the sidewalk, stopping short of a blast that left a remarkably sizeable crater.

About ten feet down the street to my left, Phantom was stumbling to his feet, one hand clutching the other arm, staring up at the storm cloud. Another blast fell from the sky, directly toward him. Before I was fully sure of what I was doing, I rushed out into the street and threw up a ghost shield.

The blast cracked the shield, and the resulting shockwave dispersed, somehow without doing too much damage. I took a couple steps back and stared up at the cloud, at the center of which was now Pariah's face. "But...how?" he asked, his eye widening. "You're human." Here his eye narrowed.

"Guess again," I said. "Where's your buddy, the Fright Knight? Did he bail on you?"

"The traitor pays as you all will pay, regardless of his efforts to win my favor."

"I'm sensing a huge beef between these two," Phantom whispered.

"Bet that doesn't hold a candle to what he has against my dad," I replied. "Speaking of which..." I fished out my phone and dialled a number.

"Hey, Demi. What's up?" Dad asked on the other end of the line.

"Does Pariah Dark's head floating in mid-air count as something gone wrong?"

Dad's tone changed instantly. "Stay there, and if you've found anything important, don't let him anywhere near it. I'll be right there."

I pressed the 'end' button and pocketed my phone. Another ecto-blast fell from the sky, and I jumped back, narrowly avoiding it. "Inside, now." I pushed Phantom toward the house and forced the door open, slamming it shut behind us. "There's a box upstairs. It's Vlad's, and it's in the hall. Find it, get it, and find a safe place for it."

"God, you're bossy."

"This is serious. Go." He merely stood there, staring me down. "Go," I hissed. He jumped, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that mine had flashed red. Another moment later, he drifted up through the ceiling.

I leaned against the door, listening. The hail of ecto-blasts had calmed down, but it was replaced by what sounded like swarms of skeletons rushing through the streets. Pariah could be heard ordering them to find and return the Crown of Fire.

I rushed upstairs, relieved that the box was gone. Phantom at least did that part of what I told him to. Now I just had to hold my own until I could get out of there safely.

I looked down the stairs at the front door, just as the skeletons pressing on it ripped it off its hinges and drove it to the floor, swarming into the house, some ascending the stairs. I took a few steps back and thought back to the ghost shield. If it could be projected in a spherical shape, as implied by what I'd seen my dad do, then I could, in theory, roll over the skeletons to a safe exit.

I took a deep breath, levitated, and generated the shield. I levitated a little more to accomodate for the sphere's radius. I rolled the sphere toward the skeletons, who tried to hold it back. I pushed harder. The sphere was forced over the mass of bones, and rolling became easier. In this manner, I reached the first floor before needing to shrink the shield to fit through the doorframe.

I landed on my feet in a spot in the middle of the street, surrounded by skeletons. Dad was in the center of a hoard of them. An ectoplasmic sphere shot out from him, dispersing the hoard, and he rushed over to me. "Where's Phantom?" he asked.

"I told him to get to safety once he had Vlad's cardboard box, the one in that house, but I have no way of knowing if he listened to me," I replied. "At least he took the box, or someone did, hopefully him."

"Okay, this is good. Nice zorbing technique, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Now, let's get you home and I'll find Phantom."

"Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I waited until Dad disappeared into the ghost portal before walking out of Fentonworks and down the street toward Casper High. The students were talking about the attack in Connecticut, but I hung on the fringes more than usual, instead settling into my seat in Psychology earlier than usual and staring into space.

It wouldn't be long before the skeletons tracked Phantom and the box down, and I was fairly certain the box contained the Crown of Fire. Pariah could've wanted it for anything, from a fancy crown to put on his head to an artifact of power, and something about the way I reacted to it inclined me to believe the latter.

Then there was the matter of who released Pariah in the first place, and why. There was Vlad, an obvious suspect, according to what my dad told me, and also using that as a base, I could establish a potential motive: to become all-powerful, which he probably wanted to do the first time he released Pariah. There was also Clockwork, who would do probably anything to save the timestream from destruction, including releasing the most powerful ghost known to both ghosts and humans. But the problem with the Clockwork theory was that he was also one to let others go about their own series of events and make their own choices. Phantom, being Dad's evil self, was evidence enough of this based on what I had heard ever since this whole thing started, through different people, human and ghost.

There was a third matter, the more serious one of Pariah's armies of skeletal ghosts attacking a Connecticut village to find the Crown of Fire. That technically meant we were being invaded, and that he didn't care who or what he had to destroy to get what he wanted. The same could be said for Phantom, a realization which made me swallow.

It wouldn't be long now before Phantom's current location was also invaded, and if he was smart, he would've ditched the box a long time before. Of course, while such a move protected him, it left the box, and thus the Crown, vulnerable to seizure by the enemy, so perhaps the smarter move was Phantom keeping the box with him and, hopefully, finding shelter in time.

If only I had a way of finding out whether this was so or not.

"Good morning, class," the original substitute, a much kinder looking woman than her substitute, said, and the day officially began.

DPDP

I slipped into the commons just as everyone was going to lunch, and Deirdre rushed over to me. "Thank God, you're here," she said. "I need your help with something."

"Uh, sure. What's up?" I replied. She turned around and gestured for me to follow. We walked into a small hallway leading to a small, new wing of Casper High, and my ghost sense went off. I peered into the dimly lit hallway, and after a moment, I recognized Phantom's muscular form and fiery white hair. He was standing in the middle of the hall. "What do you want?" I asked.

"Cut me a little slack, will you? I just got away from a squadron of skeletons, for God's sake," he snapped in reply.

"You two know each other?" Deirdre asked.

"Yes, we do. Deirdre, Phantom. Phantom, Deirdre," I said. "So, what's up?"

"This...Phantom...showed up in my locker after first hour and handed me this box out of nowhere."

I felt faint. "Where is it?" I asked, a little more forcefully than was probably necessary.

"In my locker. Why?"

"Find it and get it back here as soon as possible. There's a table in the corner of the commons where we can talk about this. There's a lot we need to tell you."

DPDP

After I ensured that Phantom was properly human-looking, he, Deirdre, and I sat around a small table, away from the rest of the students, the box in the center. "Deirdre," I began, "Phantom's a full ghost, and I'm what's known as a halfa. We found ourselves with this box in an effort to stop an evil ghost king from gaining full power."

"Okay," she said with a slow nod.

"Inside this box, we believe, is what's known as the Crown of Fire, one of two Ghost Zone artifacts that grant the wearer unbelievable power," Phantom added. "I'm just dragged into this mess because apparently this is all a fixed series and has to have the same outcome every single time."

"Clockwork can't tell us why because it would affect the outcome," I said.

"Okay, yeah, I get it. So, why'd he drop it off in my locker?"

"Good question." I glanced at Phantom and prompted him with his name.

He sighed and hissed, "I told you already. I had to lose a squadron of skeletons and still get that thing into safe hands. Human hands. I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid."

"The ghost king runs an army of skeletal ghosts that he uses to conquer places," I explained to Deirdre, who nodded to indicate her understanding.

"Hey, I think I heard about...there was some massive ghost attack in some village in Connecticut," she said. "That was them, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." I glanced at the clock. "Okay, Phantom, you should probably get out of here."

"Why?"

"Remember, it's not safe, and besides, a ghost as powerful as you probably shouldn't fall into enemy hands."

He nodded curtly and disappeared. "That was weird," Deirdre whispered.

"Yeah, it was, and it's about to get weirder. The ghost king is going to come here looking for his crown, and he won't stop until he gets what he wants."

"What do we do about the box?"

I sighed and stared down at the box as if it were a thing not to be touched, or at least treated with extreme caution. "I'll take it," I said. "I come from a family of halfas and ghost hunters. We can protect it."

She nodded. "Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I glanced down the stairs several times as I walked up to the Fentonworks living room. The box had been locked in a secure, ghost-proof safe, but I still wasn't sure it could hold back Pariah Dark, especially when he was dead set on getting the Crown of Fire back.

I finished the ascent and was halfway to the front door when I was stopped short by the news. "Skeletons are all over the county, closing in on Amity Park," the anchorwoman said. "Many of the older citizens are thinking back to the heroism of local halfa Danny Phantom, when he was just fourteen and facing off against not only an army of skeleton ghosts, but their leader, whom we have subsequently learned was a ghost king known as Pariah Dark.

"Now it appears that ghost armies are out to conquer again, and we only have twenty-four hours at most before we're surrounded and overrun with ghosts."

I ran out the front door and down the street. I dodged and weaved through crowds of people, probably concerned citizens on their way to consult my grandparents. I cleared the crowd, running until I reached the town park. I sank to my knees in front of the water fountain, breathing heavily. I rested my arms on the rim of the fountain and looked up at the ornate structure I saw in my dream.

I then became distinctly aware of the ticking, louder than the previous two times I heard it. I pushed myself to my feet and looked around the park, settling into a sitting position on the rim of the fountain. I couldn't help but wonder if Dad and Dani heard the ticking, as well.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. It was fairly early, still, five o'-clock, and I stood, pocketing my phone. I walked out of the town park and down the street.

DPDP

I sat between DJ and Dad at the dinner table, picking at the food on my plate. "Demi, everything okay?" Dad asked.

"Have you been hearing...ticking...lately?" I asked, looking up at my dad and setting my fork down.

"Actually, I think I have been. Five-ish?"

"That's when I heard it."

Dad leaned toward me and whispered, "What about Phantom?"

"He hears it, too."

"Where is he?"

"He dropped the box off at lunch time, then God knows where he went. Probably somewhere far, far away."

"If we hear about anyone being blown up or maimed or whatever, I'll go check it out, and if he comes after you, fight like hell."

"Okay."

Dad sat up and forked a bite of food. "So, how was school, other than, well..."

"Oh, school was good. Nothing really major happened, except...that."

"Good. Just makin' sure. We'll talk about this after dinner."

I nodded and returned to picking at my food with my fork.

DPDP

Dad and I sat on my bed. "So, we've both been hearing ticking," I said, "and so has Phantom, and we've been hearing it at the same time."

"Right."

"And it's been getting louder."

"Yeah."

"I think this whole thing is coming together. The cruel master's been awakened, if in fact he is Pariah Dark, and I think the clock, the ticking, is calling us so we can fight back, and by 'us', I mean you, me, Phantom, and possibly Dani."

"But there were six original Ancient Ghosts who fought Pariah the first time. If the Ancient Ghosts are being called again, then two are unaccounted for."

"But who would they be?"

"The apparent trend is that they're Fentons, or connected to us in some other way."

"You don't think it could be my little brothers, do you?"

"Where'd that come from?"

"They're the only other Fentons I know of with the potential to have ghost powers."

"We'll have to wait it out and see."

"Any word from anybody on who let the ghost king out?"

"Nope, but Vlad's still top of the list."

"Any idea where he could be?"

"Again, nope."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I dunno. Anyway, you should get some sleep."

I smiled, and Dad and I hugged. I leaned against the headboard and watched him walk out of my room.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

I waited until I was sure everyone was asleep before slipping out of my bedroom. I pulled on a pair of shoes and walked downstairs, halfway to the front door, when DJ said, "Wait'll I tell Dad you're sneaking out again."

"You wouldn't dare," I replied.

"Watch me."

"I know you wouldn't, DJ. You have too much to lose."

"Prove it."

"You're not supposed to be up at night by yourself, either."

"I'm not out here by myself." As if on cue, Sam stepped out of the kitchen.

"We heard you talking about us earlier," Sam said. "Do you think we have ghost powers?"

"I dunno yet, but I do. I did even before Phantom made me a composite."

"You're a composite?" DJ asked. "Cool."

"The point is, there's a chance that you have ghost powers, possibly half a set each. There's also a chance that you don't have ghost powers, but this doesn't seem as likely as you having powers."

"So that was what you were talking to Dad about?" Sam asked.

"No. I was talking to him about those skeletons that are coming here, and their leader, Pariah Dark."

"Oh. What does he want?"

"Something called the Crown of Fire, and combined with another object from the Ghost Zone, I think Dad called it the Ring of Rage, it'll make him all-powerful."

"Is that bad?"

"Yes, it is. Very, very bad."

"Where're you going?" DJ asked.

"To Grandma and Grandpa's, to use their ghost portal."

"Are you looking for a ghost?"

"I am. I need to talk to him about something."

"Then I guess we have to come with you."

"Fine, but don't do anything stupid."

"What makes you think we will?" Sam asked.

"It's just DJ I'm worried about. Anyway, let's go."

The twins followed me out the front door and down the street to Fentonworks. I led them into the building and down the stairs to the basement, and I opened the portal. "Clockwork, I hope I can find you," I whispered, shifting into ghost form. "C'mon kids, let's go." I held my hands out to my sides, and my little brothers took one each. I jumped into the portal.

"Whoa, this place is so cool," DJ said.

"Is everything here made of ectoplasm?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure," I replied. "That's why humans behave like ghosts here."

"I agree with DJ. This place is cool."

"C'mon, we've got work to do."

I lowered us gently into the open main room of Clockwork's castle, where, thankfully, he was floating in front of the screen. "I see you found your two others," he said, turning to face us. He was in old man form.

"Two other whats?" Sam asked.

"Where are Daniel, Danielle, and Phantom?"

"Dad and Dani are at home, and Phantom ditched town," I replied.

"The Ghost King's armies are closing in on the Crown, which means it's imperative that you all get here as fast as possible. Once there, I'll give you your next set of instructions."

Sam fished out his phone, dialled a number, and waited. I listened to his end of the conversation as he explained that Dad had to get to Clockwork's immediately. After a few minutes, he dialled another number and said the same thing to Dani.

"Dad and Dani are on their way," Sam said, pocketing his phone.

"What about Phantom?" I asked.

"What do you think?" Clockwork replied.

"Well, isn't he supposed to be here, if this is all connected?"

"He is."

"So, I'm running a little late," Phantom snapped from across the room, attracting the attention of all of us. "Shoot me."

"Now that you're all accounted for, all that's left is to wait for Daniel and Danielle."

"Then what?" DJ asked.

"You'll see."

I looked out into the Ghost Zone. It didn't look all that different now that I knew that most of the ghosts had abandoned it, but perhaps because of that, it seemed lonlier now. And more intimidating.

Two dots moved in the distance. As I watched them approach, I couldn't help but think that it wouldn't be long now, though what else was coming I couldn't quite be sure. The dots developed into a male and female form, both clad in black and white. Dad and Dani.

They landed in the foyer, and Clockwork said, "Great, everyone's here. Now the party can begin."

"Last I checked, this wasn't a party," Phantom said, folding his arms across his chest.

"We've got to get moving, or we're going to be late." Clockwork waved his staff at the glass, and an image of Pariah Dark appeared in the screen. He and his skeleton army were moving toward Amity Park, so far as I could judge.

"I think we already are," Dad said.

"I assure you, they haven't found the Crown of Fire yet, but they will."

"Fentonworks," I said suddenly. "How do we get there as fast as possible?"

Clockwork held his hand out, opening a portal surrounded by a gear. "Go."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I stepped through the portal at the first available moment, and I arrived in the Fentonworks basement. My grandparents, Mom, and Valerie were busy with the anti-ghost shield, and I glanced back at my dad, Dani, DJ, Sam, and Phantom, who disguised himself as a human before entering the basement and hung by the portal. "Everything okay in here?" I asked.

"Define 'okay'," Mom replied.

"Ghosts are closing in," Grandma added.

"How much time?" Dad asked, stepping forward.

"Twenty minutes before they breach city limits," Valerie said. "I sure as hell hope you have a plan, because if not, we're screwed."

"How far does the ghost shield reach?" Dad asked.

"It covers seventy-five percent of the city," Valerie replied. "We've already evacuated the outer limits."

"Good."

I glanced at the safe, struggling to formulate a plan to get the Crown of Fire out of there and somewhere far away, to give us a little time. If such a thing could be done under the circumstances. "Can we still get the Crown of Fire out of Amity Park?" I asked.

"It's here?" Dani asked.

"I kept it in this safe, and now I'm not quite sure it's safe in there."

"No," Dad said. "If he wants to bring the fight to us, we have to be ready." I nodded, biting my lower lip. He walked over and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Think you can do that?"

"I dunno, Dad. I hope so."

He wrapped his arms around me, and I closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest. I pulled away and asked, "How is it outside?"

"Pretty tense," Valerie said. "The shield'll keep the skeletons at bay, and it might keep you guys in here, if you're in ghost form." I glanced at Phantom, who was trapped period.

"Has there been any change in the sky? Have you buys been pulled into the Ghost Zone?" Dad asked.

"Not yet."

"Well, this is good. Might still happen, but so far, this is good."

I glanced back at the safe, and then I looked over my shoulder at Phantom, who leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. That seemed to be his usual pose, no matter the circumstances surrounding him. "So, I wanna be sure, the skeletons are at the outer edge of town, and unless Pariah does something personally that destroys the shield, we're relatively safe, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Dad replied. I nodded in understanding.

DPDP

The entire city was in lockdown and Valerie was on patrol by the time I returned to the basement, which merited my sneaking past my dad in the other guest room and tiptoeing down the stairs and into the basement.

Phantom, still in human guise, sat cross-legged next to the portal, his back against the wall and his wrists on his knees. He gave me an icy look and snapped, "What do you want?"

"Can't I come down here for your sunny disposition and sparkling conversation?" I replied.

"No."

"Okay, maybe not the sunny disposition part, but at least you're blunt and to the point."

"What do you want?"

"Your opinion. We've got a ghost king and his army of soldiers surrounding the city, and the only thing keeping us safe is a ghost shield whose strength can be called into question by any comparably powerful ghost, even yourself. And since you're the first powerful and dangerous ghost I've met, you're my concept." Phantom raised an eyebrow. "Guess what I'm trying to say is, what would you do?"

"_You're_ asking _me_ for advice?"

After a moment, I nodded and said, "Yeah."

Phantom blinked a couple times, and then his eyes flashed to something behind me. I looked over my shoulder at Valerie, who stood a few steps from the bottom of the stairwell, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes regarding us uncertainly. "Everything okay down here?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Who's this guy?"

Phantom stood, and I followed suit only to stop him. He flicked his wrist, and I flew backward into the wall. Phantom shifted out of his disguise, and Valerie pulled a Jack-o-Nine-Tails out of her belt.

"Are you crazy?" I asked.

"She asked."

Valerie armed the Jack-o-Nine-Tails, and I pushed myself off the wall just as the whip flew out of its place in the device. To my own amazement, I tackled a ghost two and a half to three times my size to the ground and slid into the wall. Somewhere in all that my shoulder had slammed into the floor, but I didn't register it for several moments. I think my head hit the wall, too, but I don't remember that part very well, either.

I do remember, rather distinctly, mind you, staring up from my semi-fetal position on the floor at Phantom and Valerie, both wearing expressions of pure amazement.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I lay on the bed, listening to DJ and Sam snoring like chainsaws and occasionally fighting with each other in their sleep. One of my hands was behind my head, and the other at my side. The ceiling, while completely uninteresting, was the only thing worth staring at, especially considering the sounds my brothers made in their sleep.

My ghost sense went off, and my eyes first, for whatever reason, flashed to the green glow outside my window. Oh, come on, I thought, sitting up and turning back toward the corner on my side of the room. Phantom had phased through the floor. As usual, his arms were crossed and his eyes were slightly narrow. "You. We need to talk."

"Great. I have nothing better to do," I said.

"I'm serious." He glanced over at my brothers. "Why do they sound so weird?"

"Because they're my brothers. Alright, whatever you want to say, feel free to say it."

"You saved me twice."

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm a sadistic, psychopathic killer nutjob, and you saved me twice."

"And your point is...?"

Phantom narrowed his eyes, and his frown deepened. "You don't get it, do you? Most people want psychopathic maniacs like me in the electric chair or at the shooting range or on the lethal injection table-_something_-and you actually want me to live."

"So that's what you're getting at."

"Basically, yes."

"I still don't get your point."

"I can't state it any more simply. You saved me twice."

"Do you want to know why or something?"

"Oh, _finally_, she gets it. Yes, I want to know why."

"Not so loud," I snapped. I sighed and met Phantom with a more level gaze. "I don't know why I saved you, I really don't, but the best and most logical, psycho-babbly answer I can give you is that I was raised to save people. Dad's a hero, so he's raising me to be one, too." Phantom nodded. "Okay, you have your answer. Now I want an answer to my question. What would you do against Pariah Dark and his skeletal army in a situation such as the one we're in now?"

"I didn't let it get this bad."

"Okay, then. Hypothetically, if you did."

"We have the Crown of Fire, so all we have to do is hold him off until he wears out, which could be a very, very long time."

"And let's say we don't exactly have that kind of time, or we don't know how much time we have, I should say?"

"Well...uh...Oh, why did it have to be a hard question?"

"So, you have no idea?"

"I never thought about it. I don't think about anything. I just do."

"Just do, huh?"

"Yep. That's my big secret."

I pursed my lips. "Hmm."

Phantom raised an eyebrow and lowered his hands. His face seemed to relax, accounting for his no-longer-narrow eyes. "What?"

"I think I could use that."

"Oh. Well, I'm outta here." With that, he disappeared, and I lay back down, gingerly, of course. I just do, Phantom had said. It certainly explained a lot of things: his general demeanor, the reason Dad feared him, his lack of concern for the current situation, and numerous things I didn't know about and had little desire to do so.

I stared up at the ceiling, my mind as far as a desire for sleep as it could possibly get. My brothers snored and snorted away as if nothing had happened, and I was almost certain they hadn't noticed a thing.

With one hand behind my head and the other drumming its fingers on the blamket by my side, I continued to stare at the ceiling. What a boring part of a room.

Finally, I stood and walked out of the guest bedroom for want of something to do. On a whim, I knocked on my dad's door, and he said, "It's open." I slipped inside to find him seated on a chair, facing a wall (another boring part of a room).

"Guess you're as sleepless as I am," I said. He nodded and turned toward me. His face was drawn, the way it was after a particularly disturbing or tiring ghost fight. "Everything okay?"

"No."

"Pariah stuff or Phantom stuff."

"Both. Val told me what happened."

"I know, Dad. I saved a bad guy, twice."

"Twice?"

"The first time was in Connecticut."

He nodded. "Why, though?"

I shrugged. "Hero instinct, I guess, except in overdrive, causing me to want to save everybody?"

"You think that's it? Or is it because his ectoplasm is in your body?"

"I don't know." Dad nodded and bit his lip. "It amazes him just as it does pretty much everyone else, and I bet if you didn't know us, you wouldn't have believed it."

"You're right. I wouldn't have, but I have to."

"Think we can take Pariah?"

"Last time I tried, I needed a lot of help from ghosts who were otherwise my enemies. Come to think of it, the same thing his happening here, to an extent."

"Phantom?"

"Yes."

"So what happens now?"

Dad looked out the window at the ghost shield that was the only thing protecting Amity Park from certain destruction. Assuming Phantom didn't suddenly decide to go insane. Then he stood, walked over, and leaned against the windowsill. He bowed his head until his forehead touched the glass, and a sigh escaped him. "I wish I knew, Demetria. I wish I knew."

DPDP

The Fentonworks kitchen looked like the planning room open to high-level military officials only. Maps of Amity Park with the boundary of the shield and several other important details marked accordingly, and Valerie, Dani, and my grandparents were poring over them when Dad, DJ, Sam, and I joined them. "What've we got goin' on?" Dad asked, walking toward the maps. I hung back.

"Nothing's changed," Valerie replied. Just do, I thought, for no apparent reason.

"This standoff can't last forever. Somebody has to make the first move."

"Which one's the lesser of the two evils is the question."

Valerie had a point. Perhaps just doing would be harder than I thought. I stared at the top map and chewed my lip. "What are the two choices?" I asked.

"Either Pariah attacks, or we do," Dad replied.

"If we do, we have more control over the outcome."

All eyes were on me. I was tempted to say, "correct me if I'm wrong," but I didn't, or perhaps I couldn't. Dad looked at the others, and then back at me. "And you think, if we have more control of the outcome, we can win?"

"Our odds are better."

"Where's Phantom?"

"Still downstairs, I think."

"And your brothers?"

"Still passed out." I remembered, for some reason, Clockwork's words that we were all present. "Dad, I think I know what you're thinking."

"It's the only reason Clockwork would care about all six of us."

"All six?" Dani asked.

"There were six Ancient Ghosts that defeated Pariah Dark the first time."

"And now they rise again," I added. Dani raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how it's supposed to make sense, but it is."

"Okay, Demi. You wake your brothers up, and I'll find Phantom."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

I watched him walk to the basement stairs, and then I walked back up to my guest bedroom. My brothers were asleep on the same bed, engaged in something of a cover-hogging war, and I ripped the blanket off with one hand. They seemed not to notice, so I removed the pillows as well. When that failed, I shook them both outright. They turned from fighting with each other to attacking me, and judging by their increased ferocity, I figured they were now at least half awake. I allowed my hand to gather ectoplasm, and I touched them both. They yelped and huddled together, now wide awake. "It's time to get up. Dad said so."

"Oh, fine," DJ muttered, climbing out of bed, followed closely by Sam. I led my brothers downstairs just as Dad and Phantom walked into the kitchen from the basement.

"Take it he was where you thought he would be."

"Yep," Dad replied.

"Okay, kid, what's the plan?" Phantom asked, eyeing Dad.

"I think Clockwork was onto something with the six of us, and the poem he left my daughter is starting to make sense."

"It's us," I said. Again, everyone was looking at me. However, as the ticking had started up at that exact moment, that was the least of my worries.

"You guys hear that?" Dani asked.

"Yeah," Phantom replied. The twins looked at each other and then nodded. Dad raised an eyebrow, but he also nodded.

"This is weird."

"What else is new?"

"I guess that's our cue," I said. "I'll be right back." I walked downstairs to the basement, opened the safe, and removed the box. Then I walked back upstairs. "Alright, Dad, now what?"

"Now, we take the fight to him," he said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Dad took the box while I took my brothers. We flew toward the ghost shield, at which point Valerie dropped it for us, and we continued over the rest of the world, swarmed with skeletal ghosts. It looked to me like a glowing green carpet.

Dad waved his hand to open a portal to the Ghost Zone and led us through. I looked over my shoulder at Dani and Phantom, and then I looked over my head at the vast, empty Ghost Zone. My brothers squeezed my hands, and I responded in kind.

Dad flew to the Keep, and I hovered near the edge of the rock, Dani and Phantom flanking my brothers and I. "I think he's finally gone insane," Phantom said.

"Whatever it is that possessed, I hope it lets him come out alive," I replied. He gave me a sidelong glance and narrowed his eyes. I could've sworn Phantom didn't know what else to do with his face.

Screw this, I thought a moment later, and I flew toward the Keep with my brothers in tow. Dani followed, and I heard Phantom sigh before he, too, joined me. I knew I was so dead, but if Dad was on to something, he knew what he was doing.

We flew through one of the skull face's eyes and up a familiar booby-trapped stairwell. I swallowed, and we continued up the stairwell slowly. Any of the axes, swords, et cetera, could kill us. Or worse. I stepped onto the landing without having triggered anything, so I reached toward the door.

The door beat me to it.

I couldn't fully see what happened, but I remember being hit in the face with the door and tumbling backward down a few feet of stairs. My brothers rushed toward me, but Dani and Phantom stopped them. I stared through the open doorway as a bright pink light disappeared through yet another door. I pulled myself to my feet and ran after it, straight through the door. Pariah and my dad were engaged in a standoff with the box between them and about ten feet to one side.

I pressed my back to the wall and scanned the room for anything pink, which I found no sign of. The window was still broken.

"Ah, the Fenton child," Pariah said, looking over my dad's shoulder at me. His eye widened in interest, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

"Uh, hey. See anything pink lately?" I asked. Now Pariah's eye was more curious, and Dad was looking at me with raised eyebrows. "Okay, maybe not the best approach, but-"

"Did you say pink?" Dad asked.

"Yeah."

Dad turned back to Pariah and asked, "Who let you out?" Pariah looked at my dad and then back at me and then to his broken window. "That was probably me, but I know about this great stained-glass place in Rhode Island."

"I need no such thing," Pariah said, narrowing his eye. "As for the apparition, there is no such thing."

"Okay, all I need to know, but you might want to check on one of your doors."

"What?"

Pariah stormed past Dad and I and blasted through his door. "Smooth move, genius," Phantom said. I could tell he'd folded his arms. Did he not know any other method of expression? Pariah pushed him aside and stormed to the door frame. I peered through the door frame of the throne room as he studied the busted-up door created by the pink light that had disappeared shortly thereafter. Dani had pressed my brothers back against one of the walls, and Phantom was floating off the edge of the staircase, facing the other blasted-out door.

His arms were, as I suspected, folded. "Phantom, when we're done here, we have a lot of work to do," I said.

Something shot past me and directly into Pariah's shoulder. He stumbled through the door, and the pink light from a few moments ago made its second appearance. Pariah stared at it, and soon, so did everyone else. The light shot toward Pariah again, instigating a ghost fight. Dani pushed the twins into the throne room, but Phantom remained stationary, watching Pariah and the light warily.

The ghost light threw Pariah through the door. One of his legs struck the door frame and then my head. I landed and slid on my shoulder, my head spinning and throbbing. I pushed myself onto my hands and knees and heard the lid to a sarcophagus slam shut. My dad helped me up and I stared at the sarcophagus. "What just happened? Did I miss something?" I asked.

"I think we all did," he replied.

DPDP

The six of us landed on a relatively large rock in view of Clockwork's castle, still in ruins. "So let's recap," Phantom said, looking at me through the corner of his eyes. "Pariah Dark was defeated by...a pink ghost light."

"That's basically it," Dad replied.

"I didn't miss anything after I got kicked in the head, then," I said.

"Not so far as we can tell," Sam said, adjusting his glasses.

"Holy crap," Phantom said, looking at Sam in earnest, eyes wide. "That's the first time I've heard you talk."

"I trust a sociopath such as yourself would be absolutely fascinating to talk to, under supervised conditions, of course. You just never gave me any opportunity, is all."

"Okay, we need to focus. I want to be absolutely sure I'm not the only one who doesn't fully understand the appearance of the pink thing," I said. After a general chorus of affirmation, I added, "Okay, so far, so good. Now, where's the box?"

"Why does it matter?" Phantom asked. "We locked that bastard of a ghost up."

"It matters because that pink thing might be dangerous," Dad said.

"I thought only Pariah could use the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire," DJ said.

"Actually, DJ, any significantly powerful ghost can control the two items," Sam said.

"Besides, I made every effort not to talk to any of you about Pariah," Dad said. "It sounds like you've been spending too much time in your mom's library."

"Yes, yes we have."

"Looks like your secret's out," I said with a smirk. "Anyway, I'm gonna spitball here, to use Phantom's words, and say we ask the ghost who knows everything, also to use Phantom's words, about this pink thing."

Phantom glanced at something behind me and said, "Speak of the devil."

"I wouldn't consider myself that, but I do know who I'm dealing with," Clockwork said, floating closer to the rock. "Phantom, for this intermission, you will be in my custody, though the others may stop by whenever they choose for whatever reason. I trust the need will soon arise. As for the rest of you, please, try to return to life as normal. As always, I will be watching."

"Can I ask a quick question?" I asked.

"Aside from the one you just asked, yes."

"What happens if things that are supposed to happen...don't?"

"In short, the end of the world."

"How come I get the feeling that either way, we're screwed?" Phantom asked.

"Very insightful, Phantom. It amazes me what you've picked up from a life outside of time."

"Answer the question before I blast your head off."

"You and I both know you wouldn't do that, or couldn't. Whatever the case may be."

Phantom shot forward, one arm back and ready to fire an ectoblast. I grabbed his fist as he made his move. The way his hand stung reminded me of my attempt to touch the Crown of Fire, but I could think about that later. I said, "Unless you really want to pick this fight, then put your hand down. You don't want him to wipe you from existence, do you?" Phantom pulled his hand away and seemed to calm down.

Clockwork tilted his head toward his castle, and Phantom narrowed his eyes. "Remember, I could wipe you from existence," the Time Master said. Phantom growled, but he followed anyway.

"I guess this means we go home," DJ said.

"Yeah, guess it does," Dad replied softly, his eyes in the direction of Pariah's Keep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

I opened my dream journal and wrote down everything that happened ever since the dreams started. I had to remember everything, lest I miss any important details. I concluded the entry with a few reflections on Dad's reaction to the pink thing, my reaction to objects of power or, if Phantom was anything to go by, powerful ghosts, and some other pieces of the puzzle that didn't yet fit together.

Was it really better that the pink thing had the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire, as clearly suggested, or was it exponentially worse? And what if something didn't happen as it was supposed to, or have the requred outcome? What did the end of time look like? How could one picture that moment when all clocks across the world fell silent?

I sighed and set the notebook and pen on the nightstand. Clockwork told us to return to our lives as usual. Normal.

I had suspected that it wasn't possible. After all, I was a composite and had some strange sort of potential everyone else but me could see. My anger was apparent in the way my eyes changed color, something my dad's eyes did sometimes. Perhaps that was a clue.

Whatever it was, red hasn't historically been associated with good, and that was what bothered me. What if I did turn out evil? Could my dad really stop me? Did he have the heart for it? What if he didn't? Could he really put the world before his own family if it came to that?

I pushed the thoughts from my mind. Dad was Danny Phantom. Somewhere in there, he had to have had the strength to save the world.

I looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand. Ten fifteen, Friday night. Somehow, ghosts tended to have extremely good timing when someone had very important matters to tend to. I smirked at the thought, as any thought of time reminded me of Clockwork.

Clockwork. Everything is supposed to fall into place every single time, no exceptions. The only question was, how?

I sighed again and lay my head against the headboard, my eyes closing. My last conscious act was to scoot down the bed so my head could rest on a pillow.


End file.
